The Cayman Islands are located in the Western Caribbean 460 miles south of Miami, Florida, and 167 miles west of Jamaica. The three islands are Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, with a combined area of 100 square miles (259 square kilometers).

Grand Cayman is 76 square miles (196.8 square kilometers). Together, the three islands have a total population of over 50,000 residents. There are about 100 on Little Cayman, over 1,500 on Cayman Brac and the rest on Grand Cayman. George Town, the capital, is on the western shore of Grand Cayman.

The Cayman Islands offer a perfect tropical climate all year round with temperatures ranging from around 70°F in winter to 90°F at the height of summer. The coolest time of the year is usually between December to April. Hurricane season typically lasts from June to November.

Excellent international communications are available with telephone, fax, internet, an efficient postal system and courier services all making for easy international business and personal communications.

Several major airlines provide regular jet flights connecting the Cayman Islands with the U.S.A., mainly through Miami, but with direct flights also to Tampa, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Toronto and the United Kingdom (through the Bahamas). The Cayman Islands are five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time in the Eastern Standard Time zone.

The system of daylight saving time is not used. The official language in the islands is English.

Political Background
The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory, with a high degree of autonomy under the present constitution, which was introduced in 1972. The constitution provides for a Governor appointed by the Crown, a fifteen member elected Legislative Assembly, and an eight member Cabinet headed by a minister chosen Leader of Government Business. Cabinet, chaired by the Governor, consists of five ministers elected by and within the elected membership of the Legislature, and three appointed civil servants.

The legal system is largely based on that of England, with a strong influence of English case law, although a number of local statutes have been passed to meet local needs.

Economic Factors
The Cayman Islands are considered a major offshore banking and financial centre. The increasing number of banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions, together with tourism, provide the basis for a buoyant, albeit narrowly based, economy.

The Cayman Islands have a long history of balanced budgets and favorable balance of payments. The offshore financial sector continues to grow and the number of funds, fund administrators, and security investment businesses grew by 16% to 10,742 in the year to June 2007. Funds grew by 14% to 8,972, accounting for the largest number of Cayman registered businesses of this type according to data released by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).

Heavily dependent on imports, and with few visible exports, the Cayman Islands has a formidable annual deficit on visible trade. This is, however, covered by invisible earnings and other capital inflows from tourism and the financial industries.

The cost of living in the Cayman Islands is high for several reasons. Very little is produced locally and almost all goods must be imported. High transportation costs and import duties raise the retail cost of products.

Currency
The currency of the Cayman Islands is the Cayman Islands dollar (CI$), divided into 100 cents. The Cayman Islands dollar is fixed to the US dollar at CI$1 = US$1.20 by agreement through the International Monetary Fund.

Local banks buy U.S. dollars at CI$0.80 and sell U.S. dollars at CI$0.84.